Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a remote control device for an electrical load device, and more particularly, to a remote control device adapted to replace a light switch for controlling an electrical load device, such as a controllable light source or a remotely-located load control device for controlling the amount of power delivered to an electrical load.
Description of the Related Art
In order to reduce energy consumption, the use of high-efficiency light sources (e.g., gas discharge lamps, such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and light-emitting diode (LED) light sources) is increasing, while the use of low-efficiency light sources (e.g., incandescent lamps or halogen lamps) is decreasing. Particularly, many consumers are replacing older screw-in incandescent lamps with screw-in high-efficiency lamps to provide a quick path to reducing energy consumption. A screw-in high-efficiency lamp includes a light source (e.g., a CFL tube or LED light engine) and an integral load regulation circuit (e.g., a ballast circuit or an LED drive circuit) housed in a base of the high-efficiency lamp. The high-efficiency lamp receives an alternating-current (AC) mains voltage from an AC power source and the load regulation circuit regulates at least one of a load voltage generated across the light source and a load current conducted through the light source. In most installations, the screw-in high-efficiency lamp may be turned on and off by actuating a light switch coupled between the AC power source and the high-efficiency lamp. Many screw-in high-efficiency lamps may be dimmed by a dimmer switch that replaces the light switch.
Some screw-in high-efficiency lamps now also include integral wireless receivers, e.g., radio-frequency (RF) receivers, for receiving wireless signals, e.g., RF signals, from a remote control device, such that the screw-in high-efficiency lamp may be turned on and off and dimmed in response to the remote control device. These wirelessly-controlled high-efficiency lamps may still be coupled in series with a previously-installed light switch. If the light switch is turned off (e.g., opened), the high-efficiency lamp will not be powered and thus will not be able to be controlled by the remote control device.